Gardening in Waitaki October 8th 2024

Our lovely Botanical Gardens:

How pretty Waitaki is looking after all the rain, growth is rampant now and we should have moisture deep down for trees and plants to cope well during the strong winds that we wait for at this time of the year. Rhododendrons, tulips, and late blossoms are taking center stage now. Tulips are best left until all green has been absorbed by the bulb. A main display of tulips can take up garden space restricting room to get other plants in, they can be dug up with all still attached to the bulb and bedded into a spot in the garden where not noticed until the die back is finished then stored away where rats can not get at them. Deadhead all spring bulbs as they finish flowering, leaving them to make seed will weaken bulbs but as with tulips leaves are left on to die back into bulbs. Dressing the garden: At this time of year Gardeners get busy planning a summer display, the ground is damp and warm and just right for planting the abundance of plants on offer plus planting seeds to be ready for summer flowering and eating. Preparing the garden: The trick is to get rid of surface weeds and past flowering annuals, water the bed well then put a thick layer of compost on top of the wet soil, it must be a thick layer, don't dig it in leave it on top and plant your new season's plants into it. Bagged compost will have been heated to a temperature that destroyed any weed seeds it contained. Fill all spaces with plants you love leaving no room for introduced weeds. Seeds I planted in late winter are ready to be planted out or potted on, I see them out the corner of my eye beginning to climb out off trays as I rush past, I have even been known to comment SOON to them while keeping the water up when I really should be potting up!! Nitrophosca will work now on flowering plants and shrubs for a quick result, used every fortnight will keep the food supply up. Pansies and polyanthus will keep flowering if dead-headed, they will bud up again if fed but flowering will not be as strong as it has been, Polyanthus soon let you know when it is too hot for them if you feel they have done all they are going to do dig them out, cut back and plant in a cool shady place where they can be left until planted out again next year. Sunflower seeds can go in now, they do best being planted straight into the ground, Sunflowers are a quick result for Children to plant and watch grow taller than themselves. If you have room plant cosmos, larkspur, nasturtium, marigolds, delphiniums, and alyssum. I would love to attract monarch butterflies to the garden but can never get the swan plants to stay alive through the winter. Plant them now in the hope of attracting monarchs into your garden but keep young swan plants covered to allow them to become bushy before a monarch can lay eggs. Compost piles and bins will start heating up and working well with the layering of new grass clippings, soft hedge clippings, manure, soil, and seedless weeds. In closed compost bins watering will be needed from time to time to get warm moisture working right through the middle to create the heat needed. Too early yet to trim box hedges, wait until the new growth firms up a little. The perfect time to trim buxus in late spring is during overcast days, the hot sun burns new undergrowth, dull days give them time to recover. I notice that dreaded convolvulus, couch grass, and clover thriving once again as it pops through the ground, spot spraying where it will not affect other plants is the only way I can get on top of it. Fruit: Apple and crabapple blossoms are bursting from buds and with the sunny days bringing the bees out we should get good crops, black currants, strawberries, and raspberries are looking to crop well also. Keep the water up to all fruiting trees and plants, especially after strong winds. Vegetables Potatoes love warm ground, I put mine in later than I usually do so I am still waiting for leaves to show so mounding can begin but the broad beans are well up, corn seeds have popped through and pumpkin, squash, and courgette seeds can go in now. If you prefer to buy plants be sure to harden them outside in a protected place for a while before planting them out. Cheers, Linda

Bee in the apple blossom